Video: Using the Quick Select tool to remove a background

The next tool we're going to take a look at is called the Quick Select tool. This tool is seriously so powerful. It can help you out in so many ways when you're trying to make selections. Let's go ahead and choose the tool. It's in the Tools panel. Click on it here. What we're going to do is simply leave Auto-Enhance on, and we're going to go ahead and start to draw our selection. Now, one of the things that's kind of important with this tool, although not super-important, is our brush size. The brush size sometimes can help us to make smaller selections. So the smaller the brush, sometimes you can select a smaller area.

Photoshop CS5 for Photographers provides comprehensive Photoshop training targeting the needs of photographers. In this course, author Chris Orwig demonstrates the fundamental skills used to enhance digital photos, including managing and correcting color, sharpening, making selections and adjustments, retouching, and printing from Photoshop. In addition to teaching the techniques that enable photographers to refine and publish their photos, the course includes live-action segments that encourage thinking photographically and shooting with Photoshop’s capabilities in mind. Exercise files are included with the course.

Using the Quick Select tool to remove a background

The next tool we're going to take a look at is called the Quick Select tool.This tool is seriously so powerful.It can help you out in so many ways when you're trying to make selections.Let's go ahead and choose the tool.It's in the Tools panel. Click on it here.What we're going to do is simply leave Auto-Enhance on, and we're going to goahead and start to draw our selection.Now, one of the things that's kind of important with this tool, although notsuper-important, is our brush size.The brush size sometimes can help us to make smaller selections.So the smaller the brush, sometimes you can select a smaller area.

Typically, bigger brushes then work better for bigger areas.Well, in this case, let's say we want to select my daughter, Annika, here, andwhat we're going to do is just start to click and drag across the image.Now, as I do that, you can see that it's taking note of what I'm draggingover, what I'm painting over, and it's saying, okay, we want to include this in our selection.So, I'm just going to go ahead and click and drag over the entirety of theimage, and then I'm going to let go.Let's say that I realize, oh!Okay, I made a mistake.I want to select the rest of this over here.

Well, by default, this tool has a really nice built-in way of functioning.All that I need to do is simply click and drag to add to that selection.Now I have the entirety of her selected. Okay, great!Well, what could I do at this juncture?Well, one thing that I could do would be to select the Move tool.Then I could click and drag the selection.I could put this in a new spot, or I could bring this into a new document.Let's say that that's not what I want to do;rather, what I'd like to do is to fill the background.I'd like to affect everything but Annika.Well, how would I do that?Well, all that you need to do is to navigate to your Select pulldown menu. Here, choose Inverse.

Now, at this juncture, what is ever inside of the marching ants, in this case,everything but my daughter here, is selected.So, I'll go ahead and choose the Brush tool.I'm going to choose white as my foreground color.I'm simply going to fill this background with white, changing this image. All right!Well, I'm done with my selections.I'm done with changing the background.All that I need to do now is deselect.I'll do so by navigating to Select and then choosing Deselect, or by pressingthe shortcut, Command+D on a Mac, Ctrl+D on a PC.

That wraps up our first look at the Quick Select tool.

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Q: The instructor recommends using the ColorMunki by X-Rite for monitor calibration, but X-Rite makes multiple ColorMunki products. Which ColorMunki is used in the video?

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